Useful Bible Studies > 1 Kings Commentary > chapter 20
The death of his friend impressed upon the prophet (holy man) how serious and important his task was. His friend had not obeyed God – the prophet must always obey God.
So, the prophet carefully prepared to declare God’s message to King Ahab. First, the prophet found a man who was willing to cause him an injury. Then, because the king knew him, he covered his eyes with a bandage. Finally, he sat on the side of the road, where the king would pass.
God had given him a message for the king in the form of a story. It was like the message that God gave to Nathan for King David in 2 Samuel 12:1-6. On both occasions, the king had to declare his judgment about the facts of the story. Whatever the king declared about the people in the story, that was God’s judgment against the king himself.
So on this occasion, the prophet looked like a soldier who had suffered an injury in the recent war. Ahab wanted to give an impression that he cared about such soldiers. So, he stopped to speak to him.
The prophet used the opportunity to appeal to Ahab. As king, he was also the chief judge of the nation. So, the prophet asked Ahab to save his life.
The prophet said that, as a soldier, he had to guard a prisoner during the battle. The commander who handed over that prisoner to him, warned him to guard the man carefully. If the prisoner escaped, then the soldier (the prophet) would die. Otherwise, he would have to pay a great price for his life. The price was so great because the prisoner was important. The prisoner was one of the leaders of the enemy’s army.
Next part: God's judgment was that Ahab would die (1 Kings 20:41-43)
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